WEEK 2

[akudamods]

Saturday passes uneventfully save a little rain. It's on Sunday that you get a little notification of probation for new areas: Neo-Nipponbashi and Chuo. It'd be possible to investigate, to check out some anime, or to worship the defunct Shinkansen. But maybe it's hard to get excited about any of that when Friday’s events suggest that you have simply been provided some additional photogenic places to commit murder. Are you going to bother either overseer after their participation in some mockery of justice? Troll the internet? Get a bat out of Hyper Zone and just take out your frustration on everything?

Those of you who entered the pods will experience fewer “painful bursts of color” as your body is unaffected below the knees, though the same amount of “slight teleportation” glitches. Those of you who abstained from the pods will continue to experience all of the above as well as electric shock sensations occasionally when touching metal objects.

INTERNET | SUNDAY | MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY

((Internet investigations of any kind go here, and for all IRL areas, please use "investigate" in the subject line of your top-level comment, or link the thread to a moderator!))

Comments

[intimations]

Thanks. Hope I don't disappoint, then.

[And he'll take the bat in his right hand, testing the weight and the balance of it all before giving it a couple of experimental one-handed swings just to see how it feels before he steps over to where the plate is.

Baseball is super not a thing in GBF world unless there was a random baseball-related event i missed so his batting stance is extremely off considering he still just has his left hand set at his hip, but... well, never let it be said that his reflexes aren't good. He doesn't miss a beat with any of the baseballs coming his way, and even if the power of his swings doesn't compare with Zenos', it's still enough that his score still ends up being pretty good, all things considered.]

Hmmm...? Looks like I'll need some more practice before I can keep up with you.

[hunterandhunted]

[Zenos watches, quiet and with his arms crossed over his chest, as Belial one-handedly smacks all those baseballs out of his way. It's impressive, given that neither of them have adopted a proper batting stance, and earns a pleased little hum from Zenos by the end of it.]

Well, I would be most pleased to duel with you any time. Finding kin in this realm has been difficult, but from the very first time we met, I could tell there was something special about you.

[A breath—]

We are two beasts cut from the same cloth. Surely there is not that much distance between us.

[intimations]

[There's a moment where he simply watches over his shoulder after Zenos finishes with that at the end, before he finally lets the bat tumble from his fingers as he turns to face the taller man.]

Oh? Well, I wouldn't be opposed to getting a lot closer--[Belial takes a few languid strides over until he's directly in front of Zenos and craning his neck, just so he can stare up at his face.]

--but every dance needs a proper stage, right? Wouldn't do to have our first real bout be anything less than perfect.

[hunterandhunted]

A fellow romantic.

[Zenos notes, with his own smile only spreading broader—and so do his arms when they splay wide from his sides and consume the entirety of the space around them, truly dwarfing Belial with his great size.]

Though I suppose I care much less about the stage than whom I am to share it with. [He draws a breath in through his nose and drops his arms, looking down at Belial with a tinge of melancholy,] to feel my heart shuddering out of my chest once more... ah, yes. That is the bliss I crave. Surely a stage alone could never provide it.

[intimations]

[A romantic, huh... There's no direct response to that outside of a slight widening of his smile, but there's a clear flicker of amusement in his eyes.]

I can't say you're wrong about that. But all the same... it's so hard to get my sword up when the mood isn't right. And if we're to dance to your heart's content, [he spreads his arms wide open in something of a mirror to Zenos' previous pose] I wanna give you my best performance.

[hunterandhunted]

[Kinda fucked up they're talking about this right before Adam dies, but, you know,]

I suppose I cannot fault you for wanting a grander stage than this for your performance, [Zenos huffs a breath of laughter,] but surely if you are to keep me waiting then, you will no doubt satisfy these... cravings of mine.